Apple May Produce 50-inch Connected Television Sets Beginning Next Year

A provocative report from investment firm Piper Jaffray suggests that Apple may finally be gearing up to introduce an entirely new product as soon as 2012. According to the suspicions of Piper and prominent analyst Gene Munster, Apple will likely use its recent $3.9 billion in component investments to develop large screen displays, probably for a connected Apple television set of at least 50-inches.

"While Apple's commitment to the living room remains a 'hobby,' we continue to believe the company will enter the TV market with a full focus, as an all-in-one Apple television could move the needle when connected TVs proliferate," Munster says, adding that Apple is believed to be eager to jump into the red hot flat panel television market. As coverage from Barron's added, Apple's TV would more than likely also be a window into a “cloud-based version of iTunes."

Muster suggests that as many as 220 million flat-screen TVs will be sold next year alone, half of which are likely to be Internet-connected. If Munster's theories prove correct, Apple has a good shot at selling better than one million units in 2012, a development that would bolster the company's revenue by some $2.5 billion. Long term, Munster believes Apple's growing appetite for television sets will result in $4 billion in added revenue by 2013, and $6 billion by 2014.